Ticker

Ticker

June 22, 1995

REGION

REAL TIME PRICING. Chesapeake Paper Products Co. on Wednesday became the first company to sign onto a Virginia Power program that offers discounted rates to large industrial customers who shift electricity usage to non-peak hours. The Real Time Pricing program, approved by the State Corporation Commission in April, also requires participants to sign long-term contracts with the utility. The program is available to industrial customers who have a peak demand of at least 10 megawatts. Chesapeake Paper Products, a Chesapeake Corp. subsidiary that makes kraft paper products in West Point, is one of 25 Virginia Power customers that qualify for the program. Its contract stipulates that a fifth of its electric consumption will be billed at the special rate. Virginia Power estimates the program could trim 5 percent off a customer's annual electric bill.

SHIP DESIGN EXCHANGE. Newport News Shipbuilding is part of a six-company team that received a $9.7 million federal grant to develop the technology for exchanging ship designs via computer. The project, known as the Standards for the Exchange of Product Model Data, would allow companies with different computer programs to share designs without having to reinterpret them.

COAL CUTS. Westmoreland Coal Co. has notified its 745 Virginia employees that they could be out of work in 60 days. The company said its mines would continue to run if a buyer is found or if the company can negotiate an agreement with employees. Westmoreland lost more than $13 million at its Virginia operations during the last two quarters.

FRESH-ING UP. Farm Fresh's store in Kiln Creek's Victory Center will open for a sneak preview today and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The grand opening begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, and the first 200 shoppers will receive free products.

BIZ BITES. The Newport News division of Illinois-based Lane Hospitality has been retained as the manager of the Holiday Inn in State College, Pa., and the Albemarle Inn in Albemarle, N.C. ... Tetra/SecondNature, a Warner-Lambert subsidiary that makes aquarium accessories, is doubling the size of its Montgomery County plant and expects to add 20 jobs. Tetra currently has 88 employees at the 110,000-square-foot plant.